Thanks folks.John I love the 45/70 and itended up being my bear gun and round in Alaska in a Marlin L/A. Used 350gn. Hornady round nose at 1880 fps. Gave the gun and all the ammo and reloader to a dear friend from the forum.
Pete I will look into the the 450 nitro express and Alaskan round.At 60 I'm not sure my picking up and moveing days are over and I'm thinking Sitka just might be a nice place to live for a few years.